Chapter 13
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Chapter 12 Illusions
What do you think you're doing?' Pandit snapped with pronounced malice swivelling Samar around as he followed Preeti. Samar got straight to the point,
'You're just upset because she doesn't reciprocate your feelings' he said viciously narrowing his eyes. Pandit replied with a measured composure.
'Don't fool yourself Samar, she's playing a game herself, she has no interest in either me or you.' Samar smirked. Pandit frowned wondering why Samar wasn't ruffled by what he had just told him.
'Maybe you should ask her that' Samar said a mischievous glint in his eyes.
'Didn't you wonder what I was doing with Preeti away from the dancefloor?' He asked self-assuredly strutting closer to him.
'Just me and her... Alone' Samar said twisting the words into him for extra effect. Pandit looked at him nonchalantly.
'There's a limit Samar seriously, don't embarrass yourself with lies'.
Samar was clearly enraged but he checked himself and said with a side glance at Preeti.
'She hasn't objected to what I've told you so you can assume whatever you like.' He said in a sinister undertone.
'We've shared some intimate moments that you will never get yourself since you betrayed her'. He said tenderly, disguising the bitterness he felt towards Pandit. The tension was so thick at this point it made Preeti recoil inside. At the same time she felt used, and looked in repulsion at Samar. She was growing more convinced that this was all being done to spite Pandit, she had learned how Pandit had hated Samar with a passion and she wouldn't put it past Samar to have planned to seduce her just to show Pandit that he could. To upstage him in some sort of battle of male egos. She was unable to find her voice feeling frustrated that Samar had played her even though that was her intention too, initially.
Pandits outrage reached its peak and he pulled Samar by the open collar of his shirt while saying,
'Just look at you with your half-open shirt, strutting your cleavage around like the male sl*g you are. It's no wonder she gave in to you', Pandit lashed out cruelly while throwing him back.
Samars face was livid with a deadly rage, he clenched his teeth and kicked Pandit forcing him to stagger back. Samar approached him but Pandit recovered quickly and punched Samar in the face. Blood trickled down the side of Samars mouth as he turned his head to look at Pandit his face seething with temper while he gritted his teeth, it was a ghastly sight. Samar straightened himself and responded by pounding Pandit hard against his jaw and stood heaving over him as he watched Samar reeling from the blow. Swati jolted out of her initial shock and ran over to Pandit in attempt to detain him from inflicting any further damage on Samar but was thrown roughly onto the floor while Preeti held onto Samar who shoved her away. Pandit regained his footing and advanced on Samar, drawing him by the collar of his shirt again and threw him roughly against the door, he tore his shirt apart before knocking him several times in the chest and jaw. Samar gripped one hand round the back of Pandits head and swiftly swerved him round till he came clashing against the room wall while he thrashed him ruthlessly in the chest with his clenched fist causing him to lurch back from the blows. Then, in an odd turnaround of events he pulled him into a close suffocating hug. Pandit held tightly onto him and they remained wrapped closely in a bloody embrace. The girls were stupefied by the sight and rushed over to them this time managing to pull them apart, and their hysteric yells were drowned out as Samar and Pandit glowered fixedly at one another.
Swati knelt down by Samar and dabbed at his wounds which looked worse than Pandits. Pandit wiped a hand across his mouth and looked at Preetis appalled countenance. He offered a hand to Samar who looked at him dubiously before accepting the gesture and was helped to his feet.
The rest of the night passed by in awkward silence as Preeti, Pandit, Samar and Swati were thrown out of the club feeling every bit of regret, guilt, hurt that coursed through their bodies. Munna lay blissfully passed out ignorant of all the passings that had happened between the 4 while Naina and Sameer turned up and hauled him to his feet. They caught up with the others on their way out and called out to them.
'Look at these dead faces staring back at us.' Sameer quipped as they looked back at him with dull and battered expressions.
'Well? What the hell happened here??' He exclaimed.
'Just had a lot to drink' Samar answered with forced energy in his tone.
'You got into a fight too I see. With each other?' Samar and Pandit exchanged a shameful look at one another.
'Its over now. Lets not dwell on it.' Pandit answered. Naina frowned trying to catch Preetis eye but her head was lowered feeling every bit of shame filling her.
Samar came right behind Preeti while the others walked ahead and spoke so only she could hear him
'Preeti Im sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I got carried away.'
'You didnt hurt me. Its ok. It was my fault for instigating the whole thing.'
'I hope this doesnt change anything'
Preeti snorted and looked back at him. 'Change? Thats been the one constant ever since arriving in this God forsaken place.. Little by little a part of me dies everyday.' She was too worn out to think if that was her actual view of how morbid and bleak everything seemed now or if it was the drink talking. Her vision was starting to blur. Samar looked at her concernedly.
Meanwhile Pandit was doing his best to avoid Swati until she confronted him walking by his side.
'Pandit dont kick yourself, I admit I was wrong to tell on you to Preeti. You have every right to be mad at me. But you shouldnt have taken it out on Samar.' Pandit looked at her apologetically.
'Swati lets not talk about it. I dont want things to get complicated. Im just in a dark place right now and Im sorry I pulled you into it.'
'Well Im just in a drunk place right now.' Swati chirped trying to lighten the mood. 'And Im sure by tomorrow things will set straight by themselves. Everyone will be back to their normal selves.' Pandit highly doubted that but gave Swati a feeble smile all the same. He snuck a look at Preeti who had her head in her hands looking rather exhausted. She trundled forward and lost her balance, the drink was making her head spin. Everything around her spiralled into a havoc and a beam of harsh light filled her vision making her head hurt. The ground below felt as if it were sinking till she felt herself falling down further and further into a deep dark never ending abyss, slipping into a comforting unconsciousness. Samar had lifted her from the ground effortlessly into his arms and carried her to a chair before propping her on it. The blurry faces of the gang surrounded her vision, their voices faraway becoming more and more distant. The last thing she saw was Pandit silhouetted against the light from the end of a tunnel before her eyes closed.
Echoes of mad laughter travelled to her ears.
Preeti opened her eyes abruptly to an inky blackness that swelled her vision. She was lying on what felt like a cool marble flooring. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she caught flickers of light emerging from a distant away. She stood up and slowly followed the light into a red room where huge grinning figures of clowns and monstrous looking creatures adorned the walls on either side. The evil cackles erupted from some hidden speakers along the halls. Preeti floated along it feeling goosebumps prickling her skin. A sinister harpsichord music drifted in as she walked on and found herself trapped by mirrors all round her. Alone. Not a living person in sight. How did she end up here? She jumped and spun around but it was only her own reflection that met her from every angle.
'Naiiina, Swatii??' She called out amid the booming sounds unable to restrain the tremble in her voice. Maybe one of the guys had decided to play a prank on her. Most likely Munna or Sameer.
'This isnt funny guys!' she blurted and tripped over something. Something sharp.
She saw a knife laid before her on the ground. It wasnt a prank. It was a trap. He was in here. But the knife was armour all the same so she didnt hesistate to pick it up. She spun wildly on her feet and saw him. It. The masked figure surrounded her, waving to her. She held the knife in front of her with trembling hands brandishing it hopelessly every so often. Which one was the real one? She rotated on her feet and the figure disappeared in a flash again. One of the mirrors read I am not an illusion in red drippy letters. Blood? Was she about to discover another victim? Then the mask emerged once more, in front of her. She aimed her knife at it but it struck the glass and shattered with a symphonic clinking into smithereens. Preeti had to duck as the glass rained down into fragments. Her eye caught the sight of the hooded mask floating into view in a fragment of glass just by her foot. He was behind her about to raise his arm to strike her. He grinned as she swerved and slashed the knife against what she thought was him. She became mortified on realisation seeing the person before her. It was Swati.
Chaos spread amid the funfair as Preeti watched the ambulance take Swati away. Luckily the injury was not too deep but Preeti felt sick all the same. How had she struck her own friend thinking it was the killer? She had wanted to follow her to the hospital to stay with her. To ask her why she was in the hall? Had Swati seen the masked person?
Preeti entered the interrogation room. She recognised the cop who was questioning her. It was Pandits father who she had seen on the balcony that day when she was still getting to know Pandit.
'Hello Preeti. So you claim to have slashed Swati in self defense. Was she doing something to harm you?
'No! No it wasnt her. But..' she paused recalling the killers texts threatening to harm Naina if she leaked anything to the cops regarding their communications.
'Why would someone harm you?'
'I..honestly dont know. Must have been some random psychopath.'
'Ok...look. Thing is you and all your friends while intoxicated were involved in some fight that got out of hand. Then you somehow ended up alone in the horror ride. Your mind was most likely in a fragile state already.'
'So what are you saying. You think I imagined this?'
'No. But we arent ruling out any possibility.'
Preeti rubbed her forehead feeling too exhausted to defend herself.
'I do have this to say though. You need to be careful of who to trust in this neighbour hood especially with the recent events. I see that youve been hanging out with Samar.'
'..yes, he's Sameers half brother.'
'Of course. But there are things you dont know about him. He has a restraining order from a girl he was obsessed with. He used to break into her room and watch her.'
Preeti listened in complete astonishment and recalled the text message of a video of her in her own bed. The white gloved hand that touched her face. She remembered the first time she met Samar in the cafe and had not realised he was in the staffroom as she was changing. She felt her flesh turn cold and her face pale. The connection between that and what the cop was saying was glaring at her in the face.
'As of yet we have no proofs as to who killed Hema but there are some strong contenders on our list of suspects.' The proof was with her but Nainas life would be in trouble if she blurted out anything. She pursed her lips and tapped her fingers nervously.
'So on that note Ill let you leave though we may call you again if we find any more leads.'
Preeti left the room feeling shaken by the piece of information the cops had told her. Her mobile buzzed and she picked it up.
'1 WORD FROM YOUR MOUTH AND ITS BYE BYE NAINA. OR YOU CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN NAINA AND PANDIT. ONE NEEDS TO GO.JUST CONSIDER THIS AS A LAST WARNING!' A video cropped up of a dead girl in bed. The masked figure watching over her before turning to the camera and putting a finger to his mouth. Preetis breath hitched in her throat, she staggered backwards till she fell into Samar.
'Hey! What did they say?!' a million questions raced through her mind then. If he was the killer he had been playing a very subtle game all along. She tried not to convey any signs of fear as she regarded him.
'Um not much..Im going home now.' she said rushedly searching for Naina.
'Can I drop you?'
'No I want to walk.'
Samar looked at her perplexed by her sudden need to leave as she sped away on foot.
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